Mike Damphousse, of Smash Mouth Marketing blog does an interesting survey of several lead generation experts.
The basic question was what do you do with a Web lead? Specifically, Damphousse presented his survey like this:
My question: Within a day or two of sending an initial email to someone, leaving a phonemail or posting an interesting blog article or tweet, I see they (or someone from their company) have clicked into and visited our site.
Now, how aggressively do I go after them? Do I pounce immediately? Do I pause and call shortly thereafter? Do I just nurture them? Do I wait a couple days then call?
This is definitely the top question we get about Internet lead management at Kaleidico. So, what do the experts say?
Well, the responses were varied from pounce to nurture and I think that is indicative of the complexity of lead nurturing. Every industry, campaign, and sales prospect list will drive a differnet answer to that question.
These are some of the rules of thumb I use for my clients (using the Damphousse scale):
Pounce – Call immediately
Pause – Give it 15-30 minutes, then call
Nurture – Let the visitor keep educating themselves, educate them softly if you can identify them
Wait – Wait a day or two, then casually call
Case studies in matching lead sources with lead nurturing strategy:
- Real-time leads from a lead provider: Pounce
- Aged leads from your database: Pause (give them a call, following up on your recent email – it will seem serendipitious)
- New (cold) lead list: Nurture (upgrade their priority in your CRM)
- Unknown prospect: Wait (identify several targets in the organization and start peppering in prospecting calls)
This is a great exercise! How would you answer this question for your organization or from your experience?
